Episode Report Card Couch Baron: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Crash And Burn
By Couch Baron | Season 3 | Episode 15 | Aired on 02.09.2009
In the woods, Tracy stares darkly as a commando approaches and sees one of his comrades lying face down on the ground. Tracy then makes some noise to get his attention and starts running away, but when the guy aims his weapon at her, Peter appears and knocks him out. Tracy then teleports back (seriously, she was a hundred feet away one second and by his side the next) and as Peter starts disrobing his commando (not like that; to wear his clothes as a disguise) he lets us know that he can indeed only hold one power at a time. Peter thinks Nathan must be nearby, and wants to go back and confront him, but Tracy says she has a better plan, as she and Nathan think the same way. That statement is belied by the fact that she hasn't touched Peter once this scene.
Bennet and Claire pedechat as he leads her into a tent, and it's more retread of the same argument, although Bennet does try to tell her that the initiative is bigger than she can possibly know. In the two months since Nathan presented it to the President? Anyway, Claire in no uncertain terms tells Bennet she's one of them, and then looks contemptuously over at Nathan. "And so is he." Nathan joins them and says Claire's headed back to Costa Verde, and tries lamely to justify his actions, but Claire laughs in his face before practically spitting that she doesn't know who he is anymore. She turns to look pointedly at Bennet: "Either one of you." Other than the fact that Bennet has almost always hunted Heroes and Nathan's been a backstabbing political opportunist for much of the show's run, she makes a great point. Bennet pulls Nathan aside for a confab in which he tells Nathan he's got to put a leash on Danko. I think Danko already made his position on leashes pretty clear, but Nathan tells Bennet not to worry about him. "He's useful... until he's not." Just then, Daphne superzips in with a funny, matter-of-fact "Hi," and whisks Claire away, and Nathan snarls, "Daughter or not, she's running out of favors," like she had any choice in what just happened there. It would be funny if Bennet were like, "Oh, suddenly when a speedster grabs her, she's my daughter?" But he gets his back up in a less amusing way: "What would your hunter do if he knew you were one of them, too?" I certainly look forward to finding out the answer to that question.
Matt and Mohinder reach the crash site and run into Ando, and then Daphne appears with Claire. Matt and Daphne have a joyous reunion (in which he fails to tell her to GET AWAY FROM THE CRASH SITE AT ALL COSTS), but then Hiro appears in plain view of like, the entire state of Arkansas, so you know something's going to go down even without Nathan Forty-Three Hours Hence giving us foreboding statements to that effect. Claire again shows that she's become one of the more sensible people on the show by suggesting they all get the hell out of there, and Daphne agrees but says she can't carry everyone present, so she's just going to do a quick recon, but then the drawing comes to pass, as a nearby commando shoots her three times, although it's not clear that any of the shots are in potentially mortal spots. Claire sends Hiro toward safe ground before basically volunteering as a human shield, taking several bullets in front of Matt and Daphne until Matt loses it and mentally compels the three commandos now on the scene to shoot each other. Big power progression for him to have, but I could buy it in the face of the extreme emotion he must be feeling. Mohinder pulls Matt away, leaving Daphne there, although it's a pretty decent bet she's not dead. Danko then appears, seemingly the only survivor of the commandos present, and takes a defiant Claire back into custody.